Archive for August, 2008

People are Blogging!

I am still trying to find the time and the words necessary to write about what the first Constructing Modern Knowledge Institute meant to me. I hope other participants will also share their thoughts on the experience.

In the meantime, here are a few of the blogs already published about our collective learning experience.

Over time, video from the event will appear on this site as well!

Enjoy!

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Sylvia Martinez’s Reflections on CMK08

Constructing Modern Knowledge faculty member, Sylvia Martinez, has written a great blog reflecting on her experiences at our recent event.

<blockquote>The introductions were amazing. People had come from all over the country, and two from Israel and Khartoum. We had kindergarten to high school teachers, math, science, art, administrators, public and private schools, tech coordinators, district — just about every combination of educators you could imagine. After some opening words, we brainstormed some ideas for projects - dancing clowns, musical sculptures, a video or simulation about the immigrant experience, a boat, a kaleidoscope and more. Then people grouped themselves on a project. My job was to float around and facilitate, connect people with resources, open boxes of stuff, find clay or eyeballs or pipe cleaners or debug programs or whatever.</blockquote>

Read Constructing Modern Knowledge by Sylvia Martinez.

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The CMK08 Library

Like all good learning environments, an important ingredient in the Constructing Modern Knowledge was the classroom library. The following is a bibliography of the books in the CMK08 library, plus a bunch written or illustrated by Peter Reynolds and a few books I forgot to bring to Manchester.

Don’t forget there is a creativity, computing and constructivism Amazon bookstore created by the Constructivist Consortium.

Abel, J., & Glass, I. (1999). Radio: An Illustrated Guide. W B E Z Alliance Inc.

Ahl, D. H. (1978). BASIC Computer Games: Microcomputer Edition. Workman Pub Co.

Anderson, M. (2006). Amazing Leonardo da Vinci Inventions You Can Build Yourself. Nomad Press.

Baker, D., Semple, C., & Stead, T. (1990). How Big is the Moon?: Whole Maths in Action. Heinemann.

Bedford, A. (2005). The Unofficial LEGO Builder’s Guide. No Starch Press.

Boaler, J. (2008). What’s Math Got to Do with It?: Helping Children Learn to Love Their Least Favorite Subject–and Why It’s Important for America. Viking Adult.

Braitenberg, V. (1986). Vehicles: Experiments in Synthetic Psychology. The MIT Press.

Burger, E. B., & Starbird, M. (2006). Coincidences, Chaos, and All That Math Jazz: Making Light of Weighty Ideas. W. W. Norton.

Cadwell, L. B., & Gandini, L. (1997). Bringing Reggio Emilia Home: An Innovative Approach to Early Childhood Education. Teachers College Press.

Caney, S. (1985). Steven Caney’s Invention Book. Workman Publishing Company.

Clayson, J. L. (1988). Visual Modeling with Logo: A Structured Approach to Seeing. The MIT Press.

Colella, V. S., Klopfer, E., & Resnick, M. (2001). Adventures in Modeling: Exploring Complex, Dynamic Systems with StarLogo. Teachers College Press.

Cuoco, A. A. (1990). Investigations in Algebra: An Approach to Using Logo. The MIT Press.

Curtis, D., & Carter, M. (2003). Designs for Living and Learning: Transforming Early Childhood Environments. Redleaf Press.

Druin, A., & Solomon, C. (1996). Designing Multimedia Environments for Children. John Wiley & Sons.

Edwards, C., Gandini, L., & Forman, G. (1998). The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Approach Advanced Reflections, Second Edition. Ablex Publishing.

Egan, K. (1988). Teaching as Storytelling. Routledge.

Erwin, B. (2001). Creative Projects with LEGO. Addison-Wesley Professional.

Field, B. (2000). Make a Movie That Tells a Story. William Field.

Goldenberg, E. P., & Feurzeig, W. (1987). Exploring Language with Logo. The MIT Press.

Gonick, L. (1992). The Cartoon Guide to Physics. Collins.

Griffith, S., Dragotta, N., & Bonsen, J. (2007). Howtoons: The Possibilities Are Endless!. Collins.

Gurstelle, W. (2004). The Art of the Catapult: Build Greek Ballistae, Roman Onagers, English Trebuchets, and More Ancient Artillery. Chicago Review Press.

Harel, I., & Papert, S. (1991). Constructionism. Ablex Publishing.

Haskins, J. (2008). Diary of a Harlem School Teacher. New Press.

Healy, C. C. (1993). Build-A-Book Geometry. Key Curriculum Pr.

Hendrick, J. (2003). Next Steps Toward Teaching the Reggio Way: Accepting the Challenge to Change. Prentice Hall.

Hill, L., Cadwell, L., & Schwall, C. (2005). In The Spirit Of The Studio: Learning From The Atelier Of Reggio Emilia. Teachers College Press.

Hoyles, C., & Noss, R. (1992). Learning Mathematics and Logo. The MIT Press.

Kelby, S. (2006). The Photoshop Elements 5 Book for Digital Photographers. New Riders Press.

Kelsh, N. (2003). How to Photograph Your Life: Capturing Everyday Moments with Your Camera and Your Heart. Stewart, Tabori and Chang.

Kenworthy, C. (2005). Digital Video Production Cookbook: 100 Professional Techniques for Independent and Amateur Filmmakers. O’Reilly Media, Inc..

Kohl, H. (2007). Painting Chinese: A Lifelong Teacher Gains the Wisdom of Youth. Bloomsbury USA.

Kohn, A. (2006). Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community. Association for Supervision & Curriculum Deve.

Kohn, A. (1992). The Brighter Side Of Human Nature: Altruism And Empathy In Everyday Life. Basic Books.

Kohn, A. (2000). The Case Against Standardized Testing: Raising the Scores, Ruining the Schools. Heinemann.

Kohn, A. (2007). The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing. Da Capo Press.

Kohn, A. (1992). No Contest: The Case Against Competition. Mariner Books.

Kohn, A. (1999). Punished By Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, Praise, and Other Bribes. Mariner Books.

Kohn, A. (2000). The Schools Our Children Deserve: Moving Beyond Traditional Classrooms and "Tougher Standards". Mariner Books.

Kohn, A. (2006). Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason. Atria.

Kohn, A. (2004). What Does it Mean to Be Well Educated? And Other Essays on Standards, Grading, and Other Follies. Beacon Press.

Kohn, A. (2000). What to Look for in a Classroom: And Other Essays. Jossey-Bass.

Kohn, A., & Shannon, P. (2002). Education, Inc.: Turning Learning into a Business. Heinemann.

Lopate, P. (2008). Being with Children: A High-Spirited Personal Account of Teaching Writing, Theater, and Videotape. New Press.

Magid, L., & Collier, A. (2006). MySpace Unraveled: A Parent’s Guide to Teen Social Networking. Peachpit Press.

McDonald, M. (2006). Doctor Judy Moody. Walker Books Ltd.

McDonald, M. (2002). Judy Moody. Candlewick.

Mcdonald, M. (2007). Judy Moody & Stink: The Holly Joliday. Candlewick.

Mcdonald, M. (2007). Judy Moody Declares Independence. Candlewick.

McDonald, M. (2003). Judy Moody Gets Famous!. Candlewick.

Mcdonald, M. (2008). Judy Moody Goes to College. Candlewick.

Mcdonald, M. (2005). Judy Moody Predicts the Future. Candlewick.

Mcdonald, M. (2004). Judy Moody Saves the World!. Candlewick.

Mcdonald, M. (2005). Judy Moody’s Double-Rare-Way-Not-Boring Book of Fun Stuff to Do. Candlewick.

Mcdonald, M. (2006). Judy Moody, M.D.. Candlewick.

Mcdonald, M. (2008). Judy Moody: Around the World in 8 1/2 Days. Candlewick.

Mcdonald, M. (2006). Stink. Candlewick.

Mcdonald, M. (2008). Stink and the Great Guinea Pig Express. Candlewick.

Mcdonald, M. (2007). Stink and the Incredible Super-Galactic Jawbreaker. Candlewick.

McDonald, M. (2007). Stink and the Incredible, All-time World’s Worst Stinky Sneakers. Walker Books Ltd.

Mcdonald, M. (2008). Stink and the World’s Worst Super-Stinky Sneakers. Candlewick.

McGhee, A. (2008). Little Boy. Atheneum.

McGhee, A. (2007). Someday. Atheneum.

Minsky, M. (2006). The Emotion Machine: Commonsense Thinking, Artificial Intelligence, and the Future of the Human Mind. Simon & Schuster.

Minsky, M. (1988). Society of Mind. Simon & Schuster.

Nagata, J. (2001). Joe Nagata’s Lego Mindstorms Idea Book. No Starch Press.

Onn, A. L., & Alexander, G. (1998). Cabaret Mechanical Movement. Cabaret Mechanical Publishing.

Papert, S. (1994). The Children’s Machine: Rethinking School In The Age Of The Computer. Basic Books.

Papert, S. (1996). The Connected Family: Bridging the Digital Generation Gap. Longstreet Press.

Papert, S. A. (1993). Mindstorms: Children, Computers, And Powerful Ideas. Basic Books.

Parks, B. (2005). Makers: All Kinds of People Making Amazing Things In Garages, Basements, and Backyards.. O’Reilly Media, Inc..

Patri, A. (2007). A Schoolmaster of the Great City: A Progressive Education Pioneer’s Vision for Urban Schools. New Press.

Peterson, I. (1998). The Mathematical Tourist: New and Updated Snapshots of Modern Mathematics. Owl Books.

Pilegaard, U., & Dooley, M. (2007). Forbidden LEGO: Build the Models Your Parents Warned You Against!. No Starch Press.

Potter, E. (2006). Olivia Kidney. Serres.

Potter, E. (2005). Olivia Kidney and The Exit Academy. Philomel.

Rathjen, D., & Klutz, I. (1998). Lego Crazy Action Contraptions: A Lego Inventions Book. Klutz Press.

Reynolds, P. H. (2003). The Dot. Candlewick.

Reynolds, P. H. (2004). Ish. Candlewick.

Reynolds, P. H. (2006). My Very Big Little World: A SugarLoaf Book. Atheneum.

Reynolds, P. H. (1997). The North Star. FableVision Press.

Reynolds, P. H. (2006). So Few of Me. Candlewick.

Richardson, W. (2006). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Corwin Press.

Rinaldi, C. (2005). In Dialouge with Reggio Emilia: Listening, Researching and Learning. Routledge.

Ryan, J., Dunford, G., & Sellars, S. (2006). Micronations. Lonely Planet.

Sato, J. (2002). Jin Sato’s LEGO MINDSTORMS: The Master’s Technique. No Starch Press.

Schwartau, W. (2001). Internet & Computer Ethics for Kids:. Interpact Press.

Singh, S. (2002). The Code Book: How to Make It, Break It, Hack It, Crack It. Delacorte Books for Young Readers.

Singh, S. (2000). The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography. Anchor.

Smith, D., & Goldhaber, J. (2004). Poking, Pinching &Pretending: Documenting Toddlers’ Explorations with Clay. Redleaf Press.

Sobey, E., & Sobey, W. (2008). The Way Toys Work: The Science Behind the Magic 8 Ball, Etch A Sketch, Boomerang, and More. Chicago Review Press.

Solomon, C. (1988). Computer Environments for Children: A Reflection on Theories of Learning and Education. The MIT Press.

Tobias, T. (2000). Serendipity. Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing.

Topal, C. W., & Gandini, L. (1999). Beautiful Stuff: Learning with Found Materials. Sterling.

Upitis, R. (1992). Can I Play You My Song?: The Compositions and Invented Notations of Children. Heinemann Drama.

Upitis, R. (1990). This too is Music. Heinemann.

Villiers, M. D., & Nielsen, L. J. (1997). Is Democracy Fair?: The Mathematics of Voting and Apportionment. Key Curriculum Press.

Vines, R. D. (2008). Composing Digital Music For Dummies. For Dummies.

Vorderman, C. (1999). How Math Works. Readers Digest.

Wang, W. (2003). Totally Tasteless Photoshop Elements. McGraw-Hill/OsborneMedia.

Watson, B. (2003). The Man Who Changed How Boys and Toys Were Made: The Life and Times of A. C. Gilbert, the Man Who Saved Christmas. Penguin (Non-Classics).

Wells, D. (1998). The Penguin Book of Curious and Interesting Numbers: Revised Edition. Penguin (Non-Classics).

Wiese, J. (1994). Roller Coaster Science: 50 Wet, Wacky, Wild, Dizzy Experiments about Things Kids Like Best. Wiley.

Williams, M. (2006). Making Real-Life Videos. Allworth Press.


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One Multimedia Learning Story from CMK 08

Scott Floyd shares a terrific learning story about one project at Constructing Modern Knowledge in his blog,
Drowning in Rice and Other Deep Subjects From CMK 08.

Paul Wood and I visited the MIT Museum on Sunday with Gary Stager. Among the things we found were some truly awesome feats of engineering from Arthur Ganson. An incredible thinker and visionary himself, Ganson had multitudes of examples of his “tinkering” on display. When you look at these items of work, you might wonder why someone would spend so much time creating these little glorified table decorations. Some might say, “Why?” I say, “Why not?”

Scott’s blog is is well worth reading and watching!

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Constructing Modern Knowledge ‘08 - The Movie

New York City educator Michael Steinberg made a film documenting my recent Constructing Modern Knowledge summer institute. I think he did an admirable job capturing the spirit of CMK08, the collaborations between participants and the learning environment we created.

The quality of Michael’s effort is especially laudable since he shot and edited the video before the end of the four day event.

Enjoy!

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Not CMK08, but worth a look

This is one of my favorite Ted Talks. Author and publisher Dave Eggers tells the inspirational story of how one can create a learning environment for kids outside of school. Eggers and his colleagues also demonstrate a great deal of respect for teachers and the challenges they face.

Links:

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